Sins Of The Father
by kressn
Summary: No one is perfect, not even fathers. Jack discovers some things about fatherhood and Mac learns a lesson in being a son too.
1. Chapter 1

**Sins Of The Father**

 _ **This came to me today as I watched an unrelated TV show, and thought it would make a great MacGyver FanFiction. Hope you like it, this is my 3rd FF. Any ideas what can be inside?**_

He was running, he could feel the pavement hitting back as his feet landed on it, right, left, right, left, right...His heart was beating fast but steadily, his breathing was deep and strong, sweat was beading on his forehead and down his back. Mac loved running in the early morning hours, right as the night turned to early dawn and before people started their daily routine. Running allowed him the time to think, to get his "gynormous brain" as Jack referred to it he thought with a smile, organized and ready for his day; of course if Jack knew he was out running right now Mac was 100% sure that he would blow a fuse and start one of his ranting tirades abouts how he was being irresponsible and careless and how he was giving him premature grey hair by running 5 miles so soon after the whole Murdoc kidnapping/drugged to the gills incident and how he was going to plant a tracking device on his body, or two or three so he could keep track of him 24/7 365. That elicited a soft chuckle from MacGyver as he turned into his driveway.

He stopped and placed his hands on his knees, bent over a bit and took a few deep breaths, grabbing the water bottle he had set ontop of his Jeep's roof when he left so he could have something to drink when he got back, his usual routine was to freeze a bottle and then lay it on top of the Jeep so that by the time he returned it was melted enough to be dranked, but still icy enough to be cold. He was in the middle of a big gulp of water when Jack's car turned into the driveway, busted! he thought and braced himself for that which was Jack's paternal mode to go full force. He sighed, put the cap back on the bottle and turned to his friend, a smile on his face, "hey Jack!"

Jack turned into Mac's driveway, singing along to one of Johny Cash's songs, in a great mood when he left his house 15 minutes earlier but then he saw Mac, standing in his driveway, dressed in running shoes, shorts and a sweat-soaked MIT tee, obviously back from a run and his mood soured.

Jack's first instinct was to leap out of his car, walk over to the kid, grab him by the shoulders and give him a good shake while yelling at him for being so irresponsible by going out for a run for God knows how many miles 4 days after being kidnapped, tortured and drugged by that maniac Mudoc, but as he was yanking his car keys out of the ignition to do just that when he remembered something Cage had said to him while they were all franticlly waiting for news about Mac's whereabouts when Murdoc had taken him.

She had told him that although Jack obviously felt very paternal aboout Mac, that he obviously loved Mac more like a son than a friend, and it was evident that he would do anything for Mac, that Mac _**had**_ a father, and although absent, it was not Jack's place to play that role with him; that Mac needed a friend, not a worried parent, a friend that was able and willing to stay focused on the issue at hand and capable of being useful when they found him, because a worried parent was not going to be any good to anybody, but a loyal, capable, focused friend, well, that Mac could latch onto and use it to help himself out of whatever would need to be dealt with when they found him.

At first he was dissmissive of Cage's observation; I mean, who did she think she was telling him how he should behave towards Mac? How he should help his boy overcome whatever that lunatic Murdoc did to him? After they found Mac though, and he had time to calm himself, he really tought about what Cage had said, he actually had to admit she may have a point; sometimes going "parental" on Mac was not the best strategy, and even though he did love the kid like a son, Mac needed him to be there to help him, not lecture him. Jack sighed, planted a smile on his face and got out of the car, and started walking towards Mac.

"Hey Mac, have a good run?" he asked the boy, slapping the kid's shoulder a couple of times as he smiled and started towards Mac's front door. "Nice day outside, isn't it?" He added, maintaining his smile. He almost burst out laughing by the look on Mac's face alone. Mac's mouth was open, his blue eyes staring at Jack like he had just said he had made love to an alien from Mars on the way to his place and that they were going to run away together to another galaxy far, far away. He kept walking and stopped at Mac's doorway, turned to the kid and asked, "you coming in or going for another 10 miles? Mac finally reacted, closing his mouth and "yeah" as he made his way inside behind Jack.

Mac could not believe his ears or his eyes. Instead of yelling at him for going for a run like he thought he would, Jack had done the complete opposite, he had asked if he had a nice run and commented on the weather. Mac stood there, unable to stop his jaw from falling open, unable to move even, trying to figure out what, or even who this man that looked like Jack was? because there is no way _**his**_ Jack would just said what this one had just said. He was so surprised and thrown off balance by what just happened that he did not even notice he was actually standing inside his living room, evidently he had at some point followed Jack inside, although for the life of him, he did not remember doing it. He felt Jack's hand on his shoulder again, a slight shake from his friend brought him back to the here and now and he realized Jack's worried face was right in his personal space, and his mouth was moving..."e..ar'th ... to Mac... you OK Mac?" he finally heard; Mac blinked and nodded.

"Sorry Jack" Mac said, "I...um..."Hi", "um.. how are you? was all that came out of his mouth. He saw Jack raise an eyebrow at him with a glimmer in his eyes and a smile on his face. "I'm going to hop in the shower" Mac said, "Bozer left some muffins in the fridge if you're hungry"; just as he said that he darted towards the bathroom in an effort to get away from the awkwardness of the situation and for a chance to regain his balance. He entered his room and closed the door behind him, leaning back against it and taking a deep breath, shaking his head..."What the Hell was that?" he muttered to himself and the proceeded to take grab some clean clothes and headed into the shower.

Jack was on the couch, munching on one Bozer's blueberry muffins, which were awesome!, sipping on some coffee and chuckling to himself. Maybe Cage was right and there was something to this non-paternal thing? If nothing else it was sure to keep Mac guessing and him slightly amused. The look on the kid's face when he had acted like nothing had happened and just chatted about the weather was priceless. He was still worried about Mac's constant disregard for his well being, but maybe, just maybe, he needed to try a different approach with the kid, instead of full charge ahead, he will try a slower, smoother approach this time to see what happens.

Mac was able to regain his "balance" and feel more like he could actually string several coherent sentences together when he spoke now, so he took a breath, grabbed the door knob to his room and exited to the living room to join Jack. As he approached the couch he saw Jack was already on his third muffin and laughed; "those good?" he asked. Jack glanced up at him and said "yup" with a mouthfull of muffin. Mac rolled his eyes at his friend and started towards the kitchen to grab a muffin before Jack ate them all, which he would if left unattended. As he was approaching the fridge there was a knock on the door so he changed routes and made it to the front door to Jack's "expecting company bud?" which had an edge of concern to it. "No" he said, grabbed the knob and for a second felt slightly dizzy, his mind going back to the day 4 days ago when Murdoc's muscle for hire had knocked on his door and abducted him. He shook himself and turned the knob..

There was no one at the door, but there was a package at his doorstep. The box was nondescript, brown with a white label, no return address he noticed as he picked it up to check it. "What is that?" Jack asked, making Mac jump. Jack noticed and put a hand on Mac's shoulder; "sorry, did not mean to startle you kiddo" he said, frowing. "I don't know what it is Jack" he said turning the box in his hands; "there is but one way to find out though". Mac was intrigued, who had left the box? What is in the box? Why leave it and run?" Suddenly he thought about Murdoc again, could it be from him? Was that lunatic still taunting him? He felt his hands start to shake and his breathing start to increase but he did not want to freak out just yet, especially not in front of Jack who he knew was already worried about him as it was, so he took a calming breath and headed back inside with the box; Jack in tow.

Jack did not like it, not one bit. Who would leave this box for the kid and why? He could tell Mac was concerned too, even though the kid tried to hide it, he noticed the slight tremor of his hands as he inspected the box, the slight increase in his breathing and the beads of sweat on the kid's forehead, a tell tale sign that Mac was inching towards an emotional breakdown; one that Jack would need to figure out how to either stop or at least be there to help the kid through when all hell broke lose. When Mac went back inside with the box, Jack stayed behind the kid, closing the door and locking it tightly for good measure, slowly putting his gun, which he was holding in his left hand just in case, back in the holster. No, he thought, he did not like this one damn bit! As he made his way to the kitchen a Mac was already opening the box with his Swiss Army Knife; the kid looked pale and tired, also something Jack did not like one bit, but now was not the time he figured, so he focused on the box.

Mac took his knife out and cut around the seams of the box. It had been carefully sealed he noticed. Jack was now beside him, but he continued to focus on getting the box opened. He carefully lifted the top flap and looked inside and gasped, dropping the box on the table and stepping away from it like it was a snake ready to bite him. No, no, no, no! he thought, this can't be? How? Why? His breathing suddently coming in ragged breaths, the edges of his vision greyed, and the world was suddenly shifting on its axys. He could faintly make out Jack's face amongst the turnmoil that was in his head, he could not hear him but he knew Jack was saying something to him; he felt Jack's strong hands on him; one on his shoulder, one behind his neck, squeezing...'br..e...a..the...that is it kiddo... breathe..." he suddenly could hear again and that is what Jack was saying, unable to really respond yet, he blinked at his friend, focusing on Jack's grip to help him regain his composure..."you with me kiddo?" he heard Jack say, his hand on his cheek; comforting and strong. Mac nodded and bent down, hands on knees, head bowed, focused on breathing normally; he blinked again and felt a cool wet cloth on his face...

 _ **Wonder what is in the box? come back for more...To be continued**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Sins Of The Father**

Jack grabbed a kitchen towel and ran it under some cold water, then he placed it on Mac's face and neck in an effort to calm him down; the kid was flushed and unresponsive, his breathing was erratic, Mac was having a full-fledged panic attack. "Mac, come on my boy, you have to calm down, we've had this discussion before...breathe kiddo" Jack said softly as he continued to run the wet cloth on the kid's face with one hand while keeping a strong hold on Mac's houlder which honestly was the only reason Mac had not fully collapsed on the floor yet. "Damn it!" Jack muttered when he still got no response from the blonde genius. He looked over at the box and raised on eyebrow at the content, why would that elicit such a viceral response from Mac?..."J'a..ck" he heard coming from the his partner so he returned his attention to the kid, tossing the wet cloth aside he grabbed Mac's chin with his right hand lifting his head up to his eye level..."I'm here kid, I'm right here.." Jack replied with concern.

Mac's world shattered into tiny pieces when he opened that box and looked inside. Try as he did, he could not help the response that was elicited by the enourmous adrenaline dump that hit him like a ton of bricks. He was aware of Jack running a cool wet cloth on his face and neck, for which he was grateful, as well as for Jack's strong hold on his shoulder, like an anchor in a storm. He closed his eyes and focused on getting control of his emotions and his body again, one breath in, one breath ou, one breath in, one breath out...finally, after what seemed like forever, he was able to utter one word, "Jack" he said. Jack turned to him, grabbed his chin and made him look at him; Mac saw concern, confusion and love in his friend's eyes. At Jack's "I'm here" reminder, Mac took a deep breath and straightend himself out, one hand reaching out behind him to grab on to the kitchen counter, one hand on Jack's shodulder. He closed his eyes and took another deep breath, then opened them to face his friend, to face reality.

"I'm sorry Jack, I did not mean to freak out like that..." Mac said, walking shakily towards the box. He picked it up and walked over to the couch, suddenly feeling very, very tired. He was hugging the box against his chest like a precious possession. He was aware of Jack walking right behind him, close enough to feel the scent of the man's cologne which oddly always made Mac feel calm and secure. Mac made it to the couch and esconded himself in the corner, knees drawned up to his chest, the box in the space created by his lap and his abdomen, his arms encircleling his knees and his head on his arms, making himself as small as possible; part of him hoping that Jack would not ask the innevitable questions he knew he would ask. He could not help himself, he started to sob.

Jack followed Mac to the couch, staying very close, in case the kid faltered. He needed to figure out what the hell was going on, but right now his first priority was Mac's well being, he needed to make sure his boy, the hell with it he thought, HIS BOY! was OK. Once Mac reached the couch the kid went right to the corner, wrapped himself up in his own cocoon, holding the box close to him like his life dependend on it; then Jack heard it, Mac's walls came crashing down, the flood gates opened and the kid started to sob uncontrollably. Jack ran a hand through his hair, thought OK, here we go! He sat on the edge of the couch, grabbed Mac by the shoulders and pulled him close, letting the kid just sob, get whatever this was out. It broke Jack's heart to see this, to allow Mac to hurt like this, but it was necessary.

"Mac" Jack said to the blond blob in his arms, "kiddo, you need to tell me what the hell is going on?" The boy's sobs had abatted enough to where Jack knew, or at least hoped, the kid could hear him. "You're scaring me son" "I am right here, I am not going anywhere, I can help, but you need to let me in; I can't help you if you don't explain things to me so I know HOW to help you" Finally the kid pulled away and looked at him with blood shot eyes, sniffling and Jack took the opportunity to ask: "Why did that, pointing to the box, make you so upset kid? "What is that?"

Mac pulled away from Jack and looked at him, then he looked down at the box and carefully took out the little doll inside, it was an old cloth doll, dressed in a red dress with a big red bow on its head. The doll was missing an eye, and had lost a shoe somewhere in the process. He absently ran his hand down the doll's hair, petting it. He brought the doll up to his nose and he sniffed it, it still smelled of baby powder and daisies; that made his mouth turn upward in a faint smile. He looked at Jack again, aware of the man's gaze on him and sighed. He held the doll out towards Jack.

Jack watched Mac with the old doll. The thing looked to be a couple of decades old; it was missing an eye from what he could tell, and it certaintly looked like it had seen better days. He found it very strange the way Mac was holding it like it was a precious breakable thing, and when he sniffed it and smiled at it, he was very intrigued; when the kid held the doll out towards him for the taking, Jack was downright confused, but he took the doll from his partner's hands and looked at Mac's eyes... "Mac..who's is this?" he asked.

Mac looked right at his friend, took a deep breath and said, "My sister's..." Jack's face fell...

 _ **Not what you were expecting I bet? LOL...**_

 _ **Thanks everyone for the reviews; I appreciate them!**_

 _ **To be continued...**_


	3. Chapter 3

Sins Of The Father

 ** _Thank you all for the kind review! I am happy you all are enjoying the mystery._**

Jack was sure he heard Mac wrong; I mean, he had to, "Sister?" Mac did not have a sister. He turned to the young man, unconsciously holding the little doll so tight his knuckles were white and his hand was shaking. He took a breath and said, "Did you just say your sister..." Jack's eyes locked with the young genius' and waited literally with bated breath. The young blond blinked and looked at him with such sadness in his eyes that it almost broke the older man's heart, making him want to just grab the kid tightly in an embrace until the boy was whole again.

Mac looked at Jack, trying to hold his composure. He took a breath and ran a hand through his hair. He knew what he was about to disclose was going to change a lot of things, including perhaps his relationship with Jack and the others, but he knew he had to. "My sister" he repeated, holding the older man's gaze, his hands shaking on his lap as he sat up on the couch unsure if he should sit and wait for Jack's reaction to his earth-shattering revelation, or simply flee until the storm passed?

Jack opened his mouth about to speak, then closed it, then opened it again; he was at a loss as to how to even begin to speak, how to even begin to make sense of what his ears were hearing but his brain refused to make sense of. He cleared his throat and stood up, glanced at the young blonde who was still sitting quietly, hands on his lap, head down staring at a spot on the floor that seem to suddenly fascinate him; Jack could tell the boy was shaking, visibly shaking. Jack wondered how much energy his friend was exerting by simply staying seated rather than fleeing, which he knew Mac also was contemplating at this point. He started pacing back and forth in front of the couch where Mac was sitting, not speaking but muttering to himself. Mac looked up at his friend but said nothing. He simply waited.

Jack suddenly stopped pacing and came back to sit on the coffee table, his knees touching Mac's, he took his hands and enveloped the boy's, then Jack took a breath and said; "OK Angus", Mac flinched at Jack's use of his first name, Jack smiled at that, even though Mac is a grown man, Jack was always amused by the fact that he still held authority towards the boy, especially when he chose to use his first name when addressing him; he continued speaking however without missing a beat, "You are going to have to back this up a bit **_my boy_** , because you lost me; YOU do **_NOT_** have a sister, so I need to understand what you are trying to tell me?"

" _Had_..." Mac whispered, so softly that Jack was not sure he heard him correctly; "come again?" Jack asked. "I _had_ a sister" Mac said more loudly after clearing his throat; he looked at the older man's eyes as he continued; "my…um… father had a daughter…he um…had an affair and it ended with the birth of my sister, her name was Ashley Rose", Mac said her name like it was precious fragile thing that could break if someone so much as looked at it wrong, a tear slipping through his defenses and sliding down his cheek. "She was beautiful, she was perfect!" Mac said with sadness in his voice far beyond his years.

Jack nodded, it was obvious that this was hard for Mac, that exposing this secret which he evidently had buried so deep that he doubted anyone would have found it had it not been for this box being sent to him today. Jack knew he had to ask, even though he wasn't sure he wanted to know; "what happened to her Mac?" He asked, lowering his tone to one of kindness and respect for it was obvious the child was dead.

Mac stood up suddenly, almost tripping over Jack's feet in his haste to be anywhere else but where he was. He walked out to the deck in a hurried pace. Jack followed the boy, walking to stand beside him and placing a hand on Mac's shoulder who was now leaning on the railing, breathing fast and crying unashamed. "Mac", Jack repeated softly, squeezing the blonde's shoulder in an effort to keep Mac from wanting to run again, "What happened to her?"

Mac felt the walls closing in while he was on the couch, he suddenly felt like he could not catch his breath and he acted on his fleeing reflex running out to the deck. He knew Jack would follow, but at least he would be outside when he lost it; which he also knew he would.

Jack asked the question again after he came up beside him, he heard it the first time too, "what happened to her?" Mac could not stop his tears from falling, and he was not sure he cared anymore. This secret needed to come out, it needed to be let out so it would stop eating him alive from the inside in. He needed to tell someone about the sins of his father, and who better than a man he has grown love _like a father_? He turned his head to face his friend and spoke: "She died when she was 2" Mac took a breath and continued, "she had a heart defect from birth and um…she died in her sleep" "I remember the night my father got the call from her mother; he was devastated; he fell to his knees in the kitchen and started to cry" "That was the first time I had seen my father cry" Mac shook himself, the memory still very vivid in his mind's eye.

He felt Jack's grip on his shoulder tighten and the older man's body shift closer to him, offering comfort in more ways that Jack even realized he was, Mac continued, "Ashley was my father's princes; she was the 'apple in his eye', when she died…a part of him died too…" Mac started to cry again, "No matter what I did after that, no matter what I said, how smart I was, how quiet, how dedicated, how anything!" Mac's voice rose, filled with emotion, "I was never able to fill that void in my father's life! I was never good enough for him that is why he left!"

Jack could hear Mac's pain in every word the kid spoke. Mac truly believed that he was not good enough for his father to love and that after his sister died, it was because he was not good enough that his idiot father left. He turned to face his friend, aware that he was so full of sadness and anger at this moment that he was lost in a flood of emotion which threatened to wash him away. "Mac", he said, placing both hands on the kid's shoulders and turned him so that he was facing him squarely, " **First** , I am so sorry my boy, I can't imagine how hard this was and is for you", he waited for Mac to react to his statement, he wanted to make sure the boy was tracking, when Mac nodded slightly at him, Jack continued, " **Second** , you are **_NOT_** to blame for anything here!, not her death, not your father's reaction to it, or his indifference; **_nothing_** that happened as a result of Ashley's death is your fault!" Jack shook Mac softly when the boy did not look at him as he said that, "you hearing me kiddo?" Mac nodded.

"I can't speak for your father Mac, but I can speak for myself when I tell you that you _ARE_ a wonderful young man!, a man with a heart of gold so big that it may actually be bigger than your intellect" Jack paused to take a breath and continued, "If your idiot father {Mac blinked at him} could not see you the wonderful boy life had given him, that is HIS LOSS!, you hear me? HIS LOSS!" Jack then grabbed Mac in an embrace, surprised when the young man did not resist, and whispered in the kid's ear; "I love you kiddo"

Mac let Jack's arms envelop him; he probably should have protested, he was a grown man after all and should not need to coddled like a 10-year-old boy, but right now Mac was having trouble not feeling like he did the day his sister died; the day of his 10th birthday, so he allowed himself to be comforted, to melt into Jack's embrace and take comfort in the fact that Jack was there for him, unwavering in his support and his friendship for him, in his love. He placed his head on the man's chest, closing his eyes and listening to Jack's heartbeat as he felt tears fall from his eyes unencumbered; he melted into the man and took comfort in the fact that Jack would never hold it against him, and he wept the tears he had never allowed himself to weep before…

 **So the secret is out, Mac has to come to terms with his past, but he also will need to figure out who sent him Ashley's doll and why? Was it Murdoc?**

 **Come back for the next chapter and we can find out where this goes from here…**

 ** _To be continued…_**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sins Of The Father**

 ** _Sorry it has been so long since the last chapter; I've been crazy busy! Let's see where this sister mystery takes us today, OK? Come with me!_**

After a few minutes Mac regained enough composure to be able to let Jack go and pull away from their embrace. He was not really embarrassed for he knew Jack would not really judge him poorly for allowing himself to be comforted by the older man; he was just ready to figure out what the hell was going on? Who sent the doll? No one knew of his sister, not really, no one except his father and him; not even Bozer knew of her, it was a secret Mac had kept all to himself. He stood up from the lounge chair he had sat in without really realizing it, and walked back inside, into the kitchen, sniffling and still trying to keep his emotions in check; he felt more than saw Jack follow him inside. Mac picked up the box the doll had been delivered in and flipped it over and over in his hands. Perhaps if he looked at it long enough, it would share its secrets? Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair, sighed and threw the box back down on the counter; then turned towards the deck and started to walk outside.

Jack stood by Mac as the blond genius checked the box the doll had been mailed in over and over; obviously the kid was looking for answers, none of which the box was going to provide him; he then watched as a frustrated Mac threw the box on the counter and stomped out towards his deck. Jack remained in place and rubbed a hand on his chin in a pensive gesture; he looked out towards the deck and saw the boy was sitting by the fire pit, unmoving. He turned his attention back to the box, took out his phone and started a text to Riley; he asked her to see if she could check the labels on the box he was about to send her a picture of, and figure out who sent it or any information that may prove useful. Jack put his phone back in his pocket once he was done, walked over to Mac's fridge and took out two beers and then headed out to join Mac on the deck.

Mac looked up at Jack as a beer suddenly appeared before him, he nodded at the older man, took the beer and took a big swig of it before putting it down beside him on the floor. Mac was seated cross legged on the deck's floor, staring at the amazing view of Malibu's geography visible from his home, not really seeing it. "I'm sorry" he blurted out. He put his head in his hands and continued, "I'm sorry I did not tell you about her, Ashley was…is…a hard subject to talk about…" he turned to face his friend, tears threatening to start pouring down again. "My family started to spiral downward once she died; it was very hard on all of us", he told Jack, "eventually…eventually things settled down to some sort of 'new normal' I guess, so I pretended; we all did maybe? That it had never happened; maybe…just maybe it had been a terrible dream from which we had awoken and we continued to live our lives as if it had not really been the devastating event it was"

Jack sat beside his friend after handing him the beer. He sat in silence while the boy talked. He knew Mac needed to talk about it, to bring the secret out from the dark hole it was buried in so that he could function; so that he could then focus on what was the main thing at hand right now, who sent the doll? Jack turned towards the blonde once he had stopped talking and it was evident he was not going to say anything else without prompting and spoke. "Mac, listen to me", he said as he grabbed the boy's chin and turned it towards him to make sure Mac as listening; Mac blinked at him, Jack continued, "I can't even begin to imagine how had this was…is…for you, losing a sibling must be earth-shattering, I get that, and I'm not trying to trivialize that" Jack waited for a sign the boy was listening, when Mac nodded slightly, he continued. "Right now though, I need you to think about something else too though, he put his hand on the back of Mac's throat and squeezed, a gesture he often used when he was trying to keep the boy focused and grounded in the present, "I need you to think who, if this is such a well-kept secret, could have had that doll and sent to you?" "Why would they send it to you?" Again Jack waited for signs that Mac was tracking; the blonde put his head back in his hands, shaking slightly, he mumbled something that Jack did not understand so he asked, "What was that Mac?"

Jack was asking Mac something he knew needed to be asked, hell, he just asked himself the same question a hundred times over since opening the box: "who could have sent the doll to him?"; Mac looked at Jack with sadness in his eyes that made the older man flinch when they locked eyes. Mac cleared his throat and said, "My father", Mac cleared his throat again, and took a deep steadying breath before continuing, "When Ashley died, um… that doll had been in her room at our house, I remember dad taking it and holding it as he sobbed the day of her funeral"; Mac closed his eyes, suddenly feeling very tired. "The doll was on a shelf in my parent's room after that, at least for a while" he said rubbing a hand on his forehead trying to quell the massive headache that was now making it hard to think, "I remember my mother was not pleased with it being in their room, Ashley was after all, proof that my father had had an affair, and although my mother never treated Ashley poorly, she was still not willing to keep a constant reminder of her husband's…um… indiscretions… in their room I guess" Mac squinted at his partner, the headache now a full-fledged, room-spinning, light-hurting, nauseating migraine that was going to make life very unpleasant for him for the next several hours; "I remember that dad took the doll and placed it in a little box then I don't know where he put it, I never saw it again after that" Mac pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers, unable to stop a groan of pain from escaping as both his head and his stomach decided to assault his body at once; he swayed as grey spots invaded his vision; suddenly he felt a pair of strong callused hands on his arms and heard Jack's voice ask him if he was OK? "No" was his response.

Jack again listened as the boy spoke. Jack was trying to figure out if the kid's father sent Mac the doll, which according to Mac's story, he would be the only one who would know where the doll was and its significance, why would he do that? Why hurt his son like that? What the hell was the point? Suddenly Jack's reverie was stopped by Mac's pallor; the kid was suddenly looking pale and sweaty. He was squinting up at him as he spoke, like he was in pain, and then the kid actually groaned and swayed, starting an obvious down-ward decent that would have made the kid's head hit the deck, literally, had Jack not reacted quickly and instinctively and grabbed Mac by the arms; "Mac!" he said, "Are you OK?" Jack swallowed hard at the boy's monosyllabic response of "No"; "Dammit!" Jack cursed as he started to help the boy down into a lying position; when he found Mac's father, and he _would_ , he was going to kill him!

 _ **To be continued…**_


	5. Chapter 5

Sins Of The Father_ Chapter 5

 ** _Happy whatever you all celebrate! I've been swamped so I've not had time to write of late; but here is my next chapter. I hope you enjoy it!_**

"Mac, kiddo, you with me" Jack asked as he gently tapped on the blonde's forehead. Mac had been talking one minute and 'out' the next. He was now lying on the floor with Jack hovering over him trying to determine if he needed to call Phoenix Medical for the kid or not. "There you are", Jack said as Mac opened his eyes and looked up at him.

"I went somewhere?" Mac said as he started to move to a sitting position. He felt Jack's hands pushed back against his shoulders making it impossible for him to complete the motion.

Jack rolled his eyes at Mac's question, then when he realized the kid was trying to sit up, he pushed gently against both the kid's shoulders to ensure he did not move off the floor yet; not until Jack was sure it was OK for his friend to move as he answered his friend's question; "yep, you were out cold for a few minutes kiddo" Jack looked down at his young friend who was glaring at him at this point since Jack's hands were effectively preventing him from moving. "Glare at me all you want kid, you ain't moving until I'm sure you're OK" He pointed a finger at Mac, "and NO, you are NOT OK, people who are "OK" do not pass out mid-sentence"

Mac sighed and closed his eyes, both due to Jack's Papa-Bear's comments and to the fact the room was spinning and his head was pounding. "I'm sorry Jack" he said, not quite sure why he was apologizing really, but it seemed like a good start. "Sorry?" Mac heard Jack ask, "For what kid? None of this is your fault" Mac placed an arm over his eyes and then rubbed his hand over his face; "for always being so much work, I don't mean to add to your problems Jack; my family's sins, the sins of my father, should not be your responsibility"

Jack was really, really, going to kill the kid's father when he found him, well, maybe not kill him, because Mac would probably want to speak to the man, but he was going to hurt him, hurt him once for every second of every minute of every instance he caused Mac pain; the beating was going to be epic!

He shook his head and then looked down at the kid, grabbing his head with both his hands, forcing the boy to look at him before he spoke. "Listen to me kiddo, I'm only going to say this once: **YOU** are **NOT** now or **EVER** 'too much work', you and I are a team, we are friends, brothers; I love you Mac and because of that, your problems are my problems, OK?" He waited for acknowledgement from the boy before he continued, Mac blinked at him, tears threatening to spill from his eyes, so Jack continued, "I don't give a rat's ass what, _or who_ your father did when you were a kid, and although I'm incredibly sorry for your little sister's passing, the ONLY one that matters to me right now is **YOU** _son_ , **YOU** are my **ONLY** priority, today, tomorrow, always"; Jack paused to take a breath and steady himself, still holding the kid's head between his hands. "I need you to understand that once and for all, OK?, can you do that for me _son_?" Jack purposely used the word "son" to try and drive his message home to Mac.

Mac heard everything Jack said and he felt tears well in his eyes; whatever his family, his father had done in the past, it was troubling, and hurtful at times, but in front of him, holding him like a anchor, was a man who loved him unconditionally, who would do absolutely anything for him and who he knew really did not mind helping him, regardless of the task. Mac swallowed hard and maneuvering around the older man's hands on his face, he sat up and engulfed his friend in a bear hug, holding so tightly it almost felt like he was going to break one of Jack's ribs.

Jack was done with his discourse when he was suddenly startled by Mac sitting straight up and hugging him. Now Jack was a huger, he loved being 'touchy-feely with those he loved, but Mac was not, so the fact that the boy was hugging him, evidently for dear life judging by the strength of the embrace, was both sweet and worrying, but Jack figured, why look at a gift horse in the mouth and he just returned the embrace, hugging _his boy_ tightly, and when his mouth was close Mac's ear, he whispered " _I'm here son, I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere, we will figure this out together my boy_ "

After a few minutes, Mac disengaged from the embrace, wiping a hand on his face to quickly dry off some wetness that had somehow gotten through his defenses as tears. He looked at Jack another second before speaking, "Thanks Jack, um…. Can I get up now please?"

Jack realized they were both still on the deck's floor, a position forgotten over all the other stuff going on. He smiled at Mac and nodded. He stood first and then held out his hand to the blond to help the kid up, not at all missing how Mac swayed on his feed as he stood, but choosing to not make a fuss over it, not yet anyway, he decided to focus on why they ended up on the floor to begin with. "So, you want to tell me what that was all about kid? Why you pass out on me? What is going on?"

Once Jack had helped him stand, Mac felt the room spin and himself falter a bit, but he was able to steady himself quickly, perhaps before Jack noticed, although he doubted it. Jack though, instead of focusing on the dizzy spell as Mac expected, decided to ask why he had passed out. Mac looked at Jack and sighed; I don't know Jack, my head is pounding and suddenly everything went grey on me"; he figured honestly at least my get him some brownie points with Jack he could cash in later, "next thing I knew I was lying on the ground" "Can we please go inside now Jack?" Mac was suddenly feeling very exposed being out on the deck and he wanted to sit down anyway, on a soft comfy, none-twirling couch (he hoped).

Jack frowned at Mac's admission to a headache that was bad enough to cause him to pass out. He knew the kid was prone to really bad migraines, but he also knew Mac was not one to readily admit to pain, so that meant the kid's defenses were way down tonight, not always a good sign. When Mac asked if they could go back inside, he was all for that, getting the kid in bed was his next goal. He nodded at Mac as a response, and then grabbed the kid's left forearm as he steered him towards the inside of the house. Mac complied and started walking inside, not even trying to wiggle out of Jack's grip, also not good Jack thought…

When Mac saw the couch he started heading right towards it, only to hear Jack say, "nope, you're going to bed kid", Mac slumped his shoulders a bit, so close he thought, but did as Jack wanted and changed course towards his room. Once inside, he sat heavily on his bed and sighed, looking down at his sneakers as if their shoelaces were to blame for everything that was happening; in actuality, Mac was contemplating bending down to undo the laces with the massive headache, not something he thought would end well. He was startled out of his reverie about the shoes' evil plans to make his head hurt by Jack down on one knee, undoing the laces and slipping his feet out of them…hum… he missed something somewhere but he was too tired to care, so he let Jack continue unchallenged; he then felt Jack's hands on his shoulders again, pressing down making him lie down, his pillow connecting with his head, and then felt his legs being lifted and placed on the bed. When did he lose complete control of his body's movements? Mac knew he should be complaining about the amount of help Jack was providing him, after all, he was a grown man, fully capable of getting himself to bed unaided, but although his brain wanted to object, his body was tired and evidently in cahoots with Jack's plans for it, including his mouth, refused to move, so he just laid there, quietly allowing his friend to tuck him. He looked up suddenly as Jack held out a glass of water and his migraine medication; he took them dutifully and then allowed Jack to pull a blanket up to his shoulders, he was speaking but honestly Mac was not listening, he just wanted to sleep, then the room was basked in darkness as Jack had obviously turned off the light. Mac's drifted off into sleep slowly, thoughts of his little sister ushering him to a heavy slumber.

Jack was worried as he exited Mac's room after very easily, too easily, maneuvering, hell, man-handling the kid into bed. Mac had not uttered a single word, not a single snide comment about him not being a child, as Jack removed his shoes and quiet literally tucked him into bed and fed him this meds. It was not like Mac to be that pliable. He was headed out towards the deck to pick up the beer bottles and close up the decks' doors when his cell phone rang. "Dalton" he answered without even glancing at the screen to see who it was. He stopped in his tracks as Riley spoke, hanging up the phone after uttering a quick "thanks Riles" to the girl and unconsciously holding his phone so tightly his knuckles were white. This is not good, not good at all he thought… Riley worked her magic and had figured out who had sent the package to Mac's house; it was not Mac's dad.. Dammit he thought, how Mac was going to take these news…

To be continued…


	6. Chapter 6

**_Figured I'd revisit this little tidbit now that I have some time. Sorry you all, I've been busy, busy, busy!_ **

Jack was sitting on the kid's couch watching the news when he heard a strangled sob coming from the kid's room, then he heard Mac yelling "Ashley, no, please no!" Jack was up and inside Mac's room in seconds, rushing to the bed where the boy was tangled up in his sheets, sheets he had sweated through evidently, stuck in a hellish nightmare.

Jack grabbed the kid's shoulders and shook him, calling his name out loudly, "Mac!, Mac, wake up bud! ANGUS! WAKE UP RIGHT THIS SECOND!" that did the trick for the boy shot up to a sitting position so fast that Jack barely had time to move out of the boy's way before getting head-butted in the nose.

Mac was breathing hard, as if he had just ran a marathon, his eyes were still unfocused with the remnants of sleep; he blinked a few times, trying to get his bearings, finally, his sight landed on Jack's face which was very close to his, Mac realized that Jack was currently holding him by the shoulders too, so he deduced he had been having a nightmare and Jack had, as usual, came in to wake him.

"Hey Jack" Mac said softly, "sorry, guess I was having a nightmare" the blonde said as he began trying to untangle himself from the mess of sheets and blankets he seemed to have burrowed himself into while in the clutches of the dream.

Jack released the boy's shoulders but stay seated on the edge of the bed, a frown on his face. "That was some nightmare kid! care to share? "

Mac shook his head; "not really". He paused and looked at the clock on the nightstand, he had been asleep a couple of hours evidently, funny he thought, he did not feel rested at all, in fact, he felt like he could sleep for a week.

Jack nodded, "OK, but you know where I am if you change your mind" Jack stood from the bed and looked down at the still tangled mess of blond and sheets, "Why don't you extricate yourself from this mess" he waved a hand down and over the lower part of the bed, "Get cleaned up and come out to the kitchen for something to eat", although technically a suggestion, Jack did not expect any disagreement from the boy so he started to walk out of the room to give the boy some privacy, "I will order a pizza while you do your thing kid"

Jack was concerned about the kid's nightmare, but he was more concerned about how Mac was going to take the news that the sender of the box, the doll, was none other than the girl's mother, Joanna. Jack was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Mac has had a sister basically no one knew or knows about, and now he was also trying to fathom why did the girl's mother see the need to mail the doll to Mac? Jack shook his head thinking this was going to be a very long couple of days; he took out his phone and dialed for pizza, then he went to the kitchen to grab a beer and wait for Mac to come out of his room so he could tell the kid about Joanna.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Another short one as time allows**_

Consciousness returned slowly; Jack blinked to try and get his eyes to focus on his environment. Judging by the hard surface underneath him, he knew he was on the floor, and based on the now more focused ceiling, he was on the floor of Mac's kitchen; of course, that brought on another whole new set of questions, not the least of which is why the hell was he laying on Mac's kitchen floor? He moaned as he sat up, rubbing a newly tender spot on the back of his head, when he pulled his hand back he realized there was blood on his fingers; what the hell? He thought, someone had obviously hit him from behind and knocked his ass out. He looked up towards Mac's couch when he heard his friend's voice and a woman's speaking.

Mac looked over at Jack when he realized the older man was finally awake, relieved to see Jack sitting up albeit a bit wobbly, on the floor looking back at him and the crazy woman that was currently holding a gun pointed at his head.

Mac had come out of the bathroom, having forgotten some socks, intent on grabbing some when he heard a loud thud (evidently that is the sound Jack's body made when it hit the floor after crazy woman hit him from behind), Mac had run out of his room calling Jack's name only to come to a screeching halt when he found himself staring at the wrong end of a loaded gun. He had realized Jack was out for the count and then the woman had waived her gun at him and ordered him to the couch. Mac was confused, who was she? But at the same time, he could not shake the feeling there was something oddly familiar about her, so he had been trying to figure that out when he realized Jack was finally conscious.

"Mac? What the hell is going on?" Jack said as he stood, holding on to the kitchen's counter when the world shifted, his body complaining about the sudden positional shift. Jack saw the gun the woman had pointed at Mac's head and froze, one of his hands reaching for his own gun which was, he now remembered, back in Mac's guest room, in a drawer, so plan B it is he thought.

"Silence!" the woman yelled. "You don't get to speak, you hear me? Only I get to speak now!" the woman screamed; "If you speak out of turn again I will shoot the boy" she warned Jack.

Jack raised both his hands in a gesture of surrender, glancing a Mac as he did a visual examination of the young blonde trying to figure out if the kid was OK? When Jack realized Mac seemed to be unharmed and in one piece he let himself relax a little and focus his attention at crazy armed woman.

Suddenly Mac's memories clicked into place, the woman's name coming to the surface, Mac's heart sank, he couldn't help but speak out her name, "Jo—Joanne?"

The woman glanced at the boy, a wicked smile on her face, her grip tightening on the gun; "the one and only Angus"

Jack froze again, had Mac just called "crazy gun woman" "Joanne, as in Ashley's mom Joanne?" Jack ran a hand through his face, crap! Jack thought, this just had gone from bad to worse in 3.2 seconds. Jack realized the woman was speaking to him now, he tuned back in and herd her tell him to use the handcuffs that were currently on the kitchen counter and cuff his own hands together, then she commanded him to sit on the corner chair in the kid's living room, a chair that was in the line of fire for her gun, but far enough away to where Jack's movements could not be fast enough to reach her without her noticing. Jack sighed and did as he was instructed, best to do what she wanted for now; he did not wasn't her hurting Mac because he acted out of instinct or adrenaline instead of taking a minute to gage the situation.

"Well James" the woman said to Jack, "Nice to see you actually CAN follow instructions now"

Mac looked at Jack mouthing "James"?

Oh crap! Jack thought, crazy woman not only is armed, but she also is delusional and evidently thinks Jack is James MacGyver, Mac's and Ashley's father; this was so not going well, nope, not well at all.

The woman smiled at Jack, looking at him like Jack was a prized catch in a demented hunting game. "Now that I have your attention boys" she said flatly, "I'm going to make you feel what I felt when my baby died!" She looked at Jack with anger in her voice, "I'm going to make you understand what it feels like to watch your child die in front of you and you be helpless to do anything about it, you son of a bitch!" she bellowed.

Nope, not well at all Jack mused, looking at Mac with worry in his eyes…


	8. Chapter 8

_**Nutcase alert! (Let's see what happens now?)**_

Jack cleared his throat before speaking to steady his voice. He was going to have to figure out how to handle this poor woman safely if possible, but most importantly without any harm coming to Mac; his priority always being the kid's safety.

"Joanne" Jack said and waited.

The woman looked at Jack, almost surprised he was there, like she had forgotten she was not alone.

"Joanne" Jack repeated when the woman remained silent; "I understand you are mad at me, upset with me, so why don't you and I just discuss this as adults and you let the boy go; he has nothing to do with what happened"

Mac glared at Jack, there was no way in hell he was living his friend with her.

Jack saw Mac's look when he asked that Joanne let him go, he knew his friend was not happy that Jack was asking to be the one in danger, so Mac could be OK, he did not care, his one and only priority was Mac's safety, and he would do and say whatever he had to ensure Mac was OK.

Joanne finally reacted to Jack by taking the butt of her gun and hitting Mac with it on the side of his head. Mac's head dropped but he didn't lose consciousness, Jack stood from the chair swearing and ready to tackle her but froze when he saw what the woman was holding in her other hand, a grenade.

"Son of a bitch!" Jack swore when Joanne hit Mac with the butt of her gun causing the boy's temple to bleed; he could tell Mac had not lost consciousness, but not by much. Jack sprung up from his sitting position, cuffs or no cuffs, women or not, ready to tackle the nutcase and see to his boy, but he suddenly realized she was holding a grenade in her other hand and froze.

"You don't think I came here without a few toys now did you James?" the woman spat, glaring at Jack. "You always told me one should be prepared for anything didn't you James?

Jack caught movement on his peripheral vision, Mac was holding a hand to his now throbbing temple, moaning softly, obviously trying to focus and process what had just happened.

"Mac, kiddo, you OK son?" Jack asked, still not moving.

Mac was sitting there one minute, trying to figure out how to get them out of this mess, the next he was literally seeing stars, his head throbbing more than it already was with the damn headache he was sporting since earlier, the world spinning sickly around him. He heard Jack ask him if he was OK?

"J-a-ck.." Mac blinked a few times, helping his vision clear, he shook his head to answer Jack, which was a mistake because that caused the pain level to increase 10-fold and invited his stomach to the party; he turned his head to the side and puked.

"Mac!" Jack yelled anxiously, still not moving though since Joanne still had a grenade in one hand and a gun pointed at the boy's head again, in the other. He heard Mac moan and then the boy started to throw up on the floor, obviously the blow to the head either caused a concussion, or aggravated Mac's per-existing migraine; either way Jack was both furious and concerned.

"Sit down James!" the woman commanded, "Or I will just blow us all up and be done with It, but not before shooting your precious boy in the head so you can watch him die"

Jack's heart fell. He walked backwards towards the chair he had previously occupied and sat down, looking at Joanne with the fire of fury in his eyes.

"Mac, how you are doing bud" He asked the blonde softly.

"Been better" Mac's response scared Jack too, normally the boy's response to anyone asking after his welfare was a canned "I'm fine"; so, for Mac to admit he was not "OK" sent shivers of worry down Jack's spine. He needed to do something to get them out of this mess, and he needed to do it now.

Mac closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the couch's cushions once the nausea abated. He took a deep breath and then opened them enough to look at Joanne before speaking.

"Joanne why are you doing this?" "Ashley would not have wanted you to hurt anyone, to hurt yourself. "Ashley was a little angel, a sweet, kind soul"

The woman glared at the blonde. "Shut up! just shut up! you don't get to talk about her anymore than your sorry ass father does, you hear me! Neither of you has any right to even say her name!" "You all kept on living your lives after she died like nothing had happened; like she never existed, never mattered; all the while I had to bury my baby, my life ended with hers and none of you gave a damn!"

Mac frowned; "We all cared Joanne, we all loved Ashl—um—her, she was my sister; when she died my world stopped; My father was devastated; I watched him break down and cry for the first time in my life"

"Devastated? Joanne laughed, "James, you? Devastated?" she said mockingly glaring at Jack, "you were never devastated by anything James, you always were and always have been a self-centered selfish son of a bitch who did not care about anyone other than yourself"

"You want to know how your father handled her death Angus?" the woman turned to Mac who nodded slowly, "he disappeared, I never saw or heard from him again after her funeral" She turned to Jack, "you never came back James, you never helped ME, you were never there for me, for Ashley, for anyone, the only one you cared about was you and you know it!" Joanne was now yelling full-out, this distracted her enough to where Mac saw his chance and bolted towards her, grabbing the gun from her as they both fell backwards…

Jack saw Mac pounce at Joanne, everything happened quickly but also like in slow motion. Mac sprung from the couch and tackled Joanne, grabbing for the gun in one swift move. Joanne and Mac fell back towards the floor. The grenade that she was holding slipped from her hand, ring less, Jack yelled Mac's name as he too sprung from his own seat, flying over the coffee table and landing on top of the MacGyver/Joanne heap on the floor, then a shot was heard, and time reset itself back to normal speed.

Mac rolled off of Joanne and onto his back, panting, Jack grabbed the grenade that had rolled under the couch luckily not far from the ring which he was able to grab and reinsert before it went off; he tossed the grenade onto the far end of the couch opposite them (He would deal with it later), then turned his attention back onto the woman who laid unconscious under him, the gun had dropped from her now still hand; he grabbed that as well, secured it and placed it in his belt behind him breathing heavily; he turned to the boy and said; "damn Mac, no offense boy, but your family is crazier than mine" The hair on the back of Jack's head stood on its end when he heard no response; he looked to the side where the boy laid, unmoving, laying in what Jack now realized was a pool of blood.

"Damn it!" Jack swore, "Mac!"….


	9. Chapter 9

_**Sorry it has been so long, I've been busy again...**_

After what seemed like forever, Jack breathed a sigh of relief when Mac finally groaned and started to come around; the kid had been lucky, after that crazy lady had shot him and he damn near bled out in Jack's arms, the Phoenix team showed up and were able to stabilize the kid to get him to Phoenix's Hospital in time, that was 3 days ago.

Jack stood up when he heard the boy groan and walked over to the bed, holding the kid's hand as he waited for Mac to come completely awake; it was not long until he was staring at the kid's baby blue eyes, a sight that Jack feared he would never behold again.

"Jack" Mac whispered, clearing his throat and blinking rapidly trying to make the room come into focus; Mac could feel something soft under him and judging by the white sterile walls around him, which finally came into focus, he figured he was at Phoenix Medical.

"Hey kiddo, took a long nap there huh? you seriously trying to give me a full head of grey hairs, aren't you?" Jack rubbed his hand over his face, his body finally feeling the last 3 days of pure hell as he watched his "son" come to the brink of death and he have almost no power to help, he had not left the boy's side for more than a few minutes the last 72 hours, afraid that if he did leave him for too long, something could happen, and he would never forgive himself if he was not there.

"What happened?" Mac asked his friend, confused, since the last thing he remembered was going for the gun Joanne was holding, and something about a grenade; obviously things must have worked out since he and Jack were both alive.

"Joanne is OK, she is being held in a mental health ward of a prison facility; hopefully she will be able to get the help she needs.

Mac nodded, "good"; Mac was startled when he felt a tear fall from his eye unencumbered, he was not normally the sentimental type, but he could not help but feel sorrow for Joanne, for Ashley, a little girl that did not have a chance, for his father, for himself, just sorry for the whole thing.

Jack saw a tear run down Mac's cheek, his heart breaking, he dried it with his thumb; a bit surprised the kid did not stop him, or balk at him for doing so, a testament Jack knew to just how much this whole situation affected the boy.

"Sorry" Mac whispered…" I'm tired Jack" he said closing his eyes and effectively ending their conversation. Mac just needed to take a minute to breathe and regroup before he faced this glitch in his reality, he knew Jack would understand.

Jack knew Mac was avoiding the situation, but he was OK with that for now, it was not like the kid could not use some rest anyway so he let things be for now, he carded a hand through the kid's hair as he stood there thinking about all the things Mac has had to endure in his young life, his mom dying, his idiot father leaving him on his birthday, evidently the death of his sister, Murdoc's obsession with him, etc.; it was not fair that such a good soul, such a kind, loving young man did not deserve to be constantly beat down and hurt by those around him, it angered Jack that this kept happening and as he stood there, looking down at his young friend, he vowed to do everything in his power to keep Mac safe not from others, that he did always, but from himself; he knew that Mac sometimes was his worst enemy, trying to take on the weight of the World on his shoulders all by himself, and blaming himself for all that goes wrong around him.

He looked down at the blond and realized Mac had fallen back to sleep and smiled; Mac looked years younger as he laid there sleeping peacefully. "You will be OK Mac, I promise, you will be fine, I will do whatever I have to do to help you through this and anything else you need son, you have my word"

Mac slept on, with his "father" keeping watch over him.


End file.
